Commencement, senior gift honor class of 2008

Augsburg is getting ready to celebrate the accomplishments of its 860 students in the Class of 2008 who are eligible to graduate this year at two Commencement Ceremonies — Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, June 29.

On May 3, 364 Day College students and 26 physician assistant studies students

cross campus for the last time as Augsburg students, marching to Melby

Hall through two long lines of faculty, who are cheering them on and

giving out well-deserved high-fives and hugs. For the weekday students

it’s a different scene than the one they remember on that day in September

when they marched as a class for the first time, to the Opening Ceremony,

timidly, through faculty welcoming them to college.

The Commencement speaker on May 3 will be Professor Jack Weatherford,

a cultural anthropologist at Macalester College, who became a best-selling

author with his book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern

World, with research that took him to Mongolia a number of times

over the past several years.

His scholarship focuses on how tribal peoples around the world relate

to the larger societies surrounding them, which he has applied to cultures

as disparate as coca growers in Bolivia, American Indians in the U.S.,

and politicians on Capitol Hill. He has written numerous articles and

several books, and has appeared on such popular news and feature shows

as the Today show, ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings, All Things

Considered, and Nightwatch.

Professor Weatherford will receive an honorary degree from Augsburg

College, Doctor of Humane Letters, for his teaching that encourages

students to use their skills in anthropology to understand relationships

Senior class gift

As the semester comes to a close and we prepare say farewell to our graduating seniors, it is time once again to honor them with a donation to the senior class gift. Past gifts have included support for the Augsburg Fund, the Augsburg sign on top of Mortensen Hall, and the clock tower in the quad.

This year, the senior class gift committee has decided to use the money raised for further improvements and renovations of the new student lounge in the Christensen Center. During the last few weeks of the semester, the committee will be fundraising for the gift. They are inviting support from any interested students, faculty, parents, and alumni who want to honor the class of 2008. Gifts of any amount are welcome.

Seniors who donate $20.08 or more will receive a senior class gift T-shirt! Faculty and staff who donate $20.08, and students who donate $10 or more will be able to honor a graduating senior of their choice. Donors and seniors will be recognized at the May commencement reception.